Winning three of their first four games, the Orlando Magic are off to an excellent start. Only the Cleveland Cavaliers and Boston Celtics have better records to start the season in the Eastern Conference. Both teams are undefeated.
Seeing the Boston Celtics in one of the top seeds in the Eastern Conference to start the season is no surprise. They will most likely stay there for the rest of the regular season. Meanwhile, other teams projected to be some of the best teams in the Eastern Conference are not faring as well.
The New York Knicks, Philadelphia 76ers, Milwaukee Bucks, and Indiana Pacers are all well below the Magic in the standings to start the season. New York and Philadelphia went 1-2 so far and Milwaukee and Indiana 1-3.
While it is still early in the season, the Magic are off to just the right start to their mission of returning to the playoffs, preferably with homecourt advantage. If the Magic can continue to win at this rate, they could truly establish themselves as one of the best teams in the Eastern Conference.
Against the Pacers, the team already displayed one crucial skill all the best teams in the league must possess.
The Magic bounced back quickly and got a win despite being short-handed
Not long after a frustrating loss to the Memphis Grizzlies, the Magic gritted out a tough game against the Indiana Pacers, eventually securing the 119-115 win.
Indiana and Orlando are two very different teams. The Pacers’ biggest strength is their offense while the Magic excel on the defensive end. It was not an easy game and things did not always go Orlando’s way. Franz Wagner only played around 11 minutes due to an illness and Jonathan Isaac and Goga Bitadze missed the game altogether.
And yet, the Magic were able to put their frustrating game against the Grizzlies behind them and take care of business against an Eastern Conference rival. That’s what the best teams and players can do—they do not let losses drag them down or throw them off their game.
No Magic player exemplified that mindset more than Paolo Banchero, who finished the game with 50 points, 13 rebounds, 9 assists, 1 steal, and 2 blocks. He was all over the court, doing everything for his team, and quickly established himself as the strongest player on the floor. It was a performance worthy of one of the rising young stars in the league. Not even the Pacers’ double-teams could sway Banchero.
Banchero was not the only one who stepped up, though. Jalen Suggs was the Magic’s second-leading scorer with 25 points. He was on fire from three, making 6 of his 13 attempts, and also grabbed five rebounds, dished out seven assists, and played his usual strong defense.
Other notable performances were Moritz Wagner’s 14 points in 16 minutes of playing time, Wendell Carter Jr.’s 10 rebounds, and Anthony Black’s 31 minutes off the bench. The youngster even closed the game in place of Franz Wagner and hit some big shots
A big problem for the Magic against the Grizzlies was turnovers and the points given up off those turnovers. Against Indiana, the Magic only turned the ball over 15 times and gave up 17 points. The Pacers are not necessarily a strong defensive team, so the last thing the Magic could afford to do was turn the ball over and create stops for them.
In the end, the game was decided by a 3-pointer from Anthony Black and free throws for Paolo Banchero, giving the Magic a slim four-point lead with about 10 seconds left on the clock.
The game showed that even with key players out, the Magic could step up and win a game that could have serious implications for the standings later on in the season.